Daily Archives: Nov 14, 2012

What to make of Mexico’s new labour law, which finally met with approval from the country’s Senate this week and is expected to be signed into law any day now?

Read some of the international coverage, and you might form the idea that the law is a watered-down initiative that fails to open up the dark and murky world of Mexico’s powerful unions. And you’d be right – sort of. Read more

Moscow-based financier Stephen Jennings is finally giving up control of Renaissance Capital, the investment bank he founded 17 years ago, to his Russian billionaire partner Mikhail Prokhorov.

As Bloomberg reported on Wednesday (and RenCap later confirmed), Prokhorov’s Onexim Group, which bought a 50 per cent stake in RenCap during the 2008 crisis, is now buying the remaining half. Jennings is stepping down as RenCap’s CEO, but will remain chief executive of Renaissance Group, the parent company, which will focus on asset management. Read more

The recent completion of Myanmar’s new foreign investment law has further fuelled investor interest in the country with almost daily news of investment plans, distribution deals and high-level business missions.

Now the creation of an equity index to track Myanmar-related stocks gives portfolio investors an early chance to grab a share of the action – even though the country has no stock exchange. Read more

Emirates, the Gulf carrier, is preparing a new route from its Dubai hub to Poland and upgrading its connection to Russia by putting Moscow on its Airbus 380 superjumbo flight list.

While such an expansion by the world’s largest airline is a vote of confidence in emerging Europe, it’s less good news for the region’s struggling flag carriers that are desperately looking to be rescued by such global airlines. Read more

Croatia’s Deputy Prime Minister Radimir Cacic was sentenced in Hungary on Wednesday to 22 months in prison for causing a fatal crash in 2010.

Cacic, who is Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic’s closest ally, later called a press conference and announced his resignation from the government, saying he was ready to accept his responsibilities [updated]. Croatians who hope to join the European next summer, will be hoping that the case doesn’t turn into a diplomatic issue between Zagreb and Budapest. Read more

A GDP proxy released by Brazil’s central bank on Wednesday shows quarter-on-quarter adjusted growth in the third quarter was 1.15 per cent – an annualised rate of 4.6 per cent. Not bad for an economy supposed to be stuck in the doldrums. Read more

The Polish government’s hydrocarbons taxation and regulation proposals put out last month were intended to encourage investment by companies hunting for shale gas – but the potential hunters aren’t happy.

The Polish Exploration and Production Industry Organisation (OPPPW), an industry lobby group, this week issued a strong critique of the proposed legislation, charging that it raises a “serious concern for the industry”. Read more

South Korea’s unemployment rate fell to a four-year low of just 3 per cent in October, a level that must sound enviable to many advanced countries. But Korean workers should brace themselves for a tough winter as many companies prepare redundancies in the face of a worsening economic slowdown. Read more

A surprise fall in India’s headline inflation rate is a welcome Diwali festival gift for shoppers and policymakers alike.

Wholesale prices rose by 7.45 per cent in October compared to the year before, well below forecasts of nearly 8 per cent and under September’s 7.81 per cent, according to official data published on Tuesday.

But economists warned that the figure is still too high for the Reserve Bank of India to cut interest rates this month, despite growing evidence of a slow down. Read more

Wednesday’s picks from the BB team: the new road that could boost Kenya’s economy; Japan’s envoy to the UK says China must calm down; and a special report on Latin American capital markets since the “lost decade”. Plus:Cuba’s new law relaxing travel restrictions; China’s Communist leadership vows not to follow Western political models; and replacing Cynthia Carroll at Anglo American.Read more

At the end of the week, China’s new leaders will step out onto the stage at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in order of seniority. Their policy choices will have an impact that extends far beyond China’s borders and yet for now, no one knows who they are, and how they view China’s future.

Indeed, even though Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang are virtually assured to assume the presidency and premiership, respectively, all the other positions are still open. The final makeup of the Politburo Standing Committee, and the order in which China’s new leaders will take the stage, will hold a number of clues regarding their ability, and appetite, to pursue economic and financial sector reform. Read more

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